Tag: paradise

Alone again, after a great weeklong visit with my brother, I felt pulled to take a walk among plant life. I needed their help to remember how to feel rooted on this Earth. I needed their help to remember the diversity of life. I needed their help to remember that life can happen in dry, desolate, and harsh conditions.

Welcome to Koko Crater Botanical Gardens.

In this 100,000-year-old crater or tuff cone – created from an ash eruption, a consequence of cold seawater entering the hot Koolau volcanic vent – a botanical garden was created to feature plants from arid areas of the world. Le’ahi (Diamond Head) is another tuff cone or, as my brother and I decided to call tuff cones, volcanic farts (you heard it here first!).

East Oahu – or any Lee or Kona side of an island – the climate is hot and dry. This made Koko Crater a perfect setting for this type of garden.

Although I am a card-carrying biologist, I think any curiously observant human who paused at the absurdity of life in places where water may come every several years, would be in awe at seeing the diversity of plants.

They are all different species, different genus, and different families – and that is just looking at the plants from hot, arid climates. These plants over millions of years have figured out how to take root and survive. But why?

To give us humans something to ponder? Or is it something greater?

Can it be the will to survive, that encompasses the ability to adapt and thrive no matter how difficult an environment may be or become?

It is how we got to where we are – and it will be the reason for where we will go…

But if you really want a little story as to why I haven’t blogged the last 3 days, then here we go…

Friday, my telework day, started off well. I was plugging along until I noticed that the fountain aerating the Koi pond aka Niagra falls, was a trickle.

A week ago, the property manager showed me how to clean the filter of the pump, but I needed to turn on the water to the hose.

The spigot for the hose is not in my little area – I had to walk out of my gate, then the main gate to turn it on. Notice the word gate.

For some odd reason, the main gate shut behind me. It was locked – something I have been super careful to make sure they are not if I don’t have my keys. (I blame this on the Menehune).

Jumping the fence was my first thought. I placed my right hand on what I thought was the neighbor’s secured fence, my left hand on the fence near the gate. As soon as I push myself up, the neighbor’s “fence” fell away. In the meantime, my hand is holding on to it so it doesn’t completely fall. Come to find out, it was no fence. It was an old gate with hinges and a hole where a knob would go that was leaning against a palm tree.

Casualty…

My hand was ripped up by splinters. I eventually unlocked the gate (buy me a Mai Tai and I’ll tell you that part of the story). I went inside to clean up my hand and wondered if I should go to urgent care because of a puncture on the tip of my index finger made me think there was a splinter.

Later that afternoon I did go to urgent care. The place I selected was new, and only 2 miles away in Kailua town. After 45 minutes of an incompetent “PA” using a pair of flimsy tweezers with a blunt end, saying “Oh grrrl, oh grrrl, I’m so sorry that this is gonna hurt,” I asked her if she had a needle – so she went to look for one and brought back a fat needle (sorry didn’t read the gauge). After poking me twice, she gave up and told me they wouldn’t charge me.

Saturday, I let my finger heal after being poked by the “PA.” On Sunday, though, as I was cleaning my wounds – I could feel something was in the tip of my index finger. I gave my finger a little squeeze near the wound and a small amount of pus came out (I didn’t photograph that).

I found a second urgent care whose phone message stated they were open 7 days a week from 8am-8pm, so I got on my bike and rode to their location (also only 2 miles away). At 3 minutes to 8 a.m. I noticed no one had shown up. I then noticed a note with small lettering on their door – “Not open Sunday, October 9th” – I was livid. I was about to hop a plane to Seattle when I decided to chill out at the farmer’s market before attempting another urgent care.

Luckily, I found the “only full-service urgent care on the windward side of Oahu” called Windward Urgent Care in Kaneohe. So I drove myself there – thinking if I don’t get care there I would just go to the emergency room (which was validated by a lovely chat with my MD brother and my RN mother).

I felt good about the place. The PA (a true PA), discussed the options, was a little hesitant, but I told her I was game for having her slice my finger open and look for the splinter. We both thought it would be silly for me to go to the ER for a splinter.

I knew I had a winner when she came back with a syringe of Lidocaine to numb my finger. She also brought a scalpel blade, a small gauge needle (16?), and a pair of clamps.

The Lidocaine made my wound bleed more than usual as she slowly sliced open beyond the entry point of the splinter. She then grabbed the needle and started feeling/fishing around the wound. When the needle grabbed on something she was concerned it wasn’t the splinter, I told her it had to be the splinter.

From the photo above you can see the splinter (about 1 cm long). Success! A little slicing, then fishing, plus lubrication with the blood the splinter work its way out and the PA was able to grab it with the clamp.

She wrapped me up and sent me on my way.

I am forever grateful to Katie the PA – she was patient, persistent, and listened to her patient.

What about those pesky Menehune? Well, thanks to them – I had an experience that has made me feel – strangely – more comfortable here.

Living and working in paradise has its perks. One is walking on the beach at sunrise. But a downside is I spend about 50+ hours per week working including commute time. I typically am out of the house before 8 a.m. and back by 6 p.m. Sunrise is currently around 6:25 a.m. and sunset around 6:14 p.m. This doesn’t leave me much time to enjoy the sun.

What if I told you that on top of working in paradise, I also have to do homework in paradise.

Yes, it was my wise plan to begin an MFA program in creative writing the same year I applied for a rotational assignment at my agency’s lab in Hawaii.

I squeeze most of my homework in on the weekends. But I need at least 2 hours per day during the week to read, write, or contribute to online discussions.

Writing in Hawaii just isn’t the same as in Seattle. The biggest things I miss are my study buddies… My cats – who either walk across my keyboard while I’m trying to write, curl up on my lap while I’m reading, or just hang out in my office.

I really wanted today’s post to be about my first time diving since 1996. Yes, this marine biologist hasn’t been SCUBA diving in 20 years. I had a fantastic experience – I picked it back up like my last dive was a week ago.

Perhaps diving is like riding a bicycle?

The most amazing thing I saw on my dive – 2 large turtles at a “cleaning station.” A cleaning station is where larger marine animals go to get “cleaned” of parasites by smaller fish or shrimp. The turtles were chill as they floated in mid-water column, getting a spa treatment from their little buddies. Remember when fish pedicures tried to make it in the U.S? Well, it is sort of like that.

So instead of a dorky picture of me with matted hair, a silly grin, a red rim around my face from where my mask was, and sporting an unflattering wetsuit (yes! it was cold), you get to see the path I take to the beach.

Here in Hawaii beaches are public land – but access to the beaches may be private. So in a place like Kailua, where the beach is 2.5 miles long, there are public access paths between some private property. The beach access I go to is only a half-block away, but then the path to the beach is a long city block.

What would you think about if you had to walk down this path to get to the beach?

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